FROM    THE   LIBRARY  OF 


REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,  D.  D. 


BEQUEATHED   BY   HIM  TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


sea 


. 


RELIQUES 


^fifa  OF  Pfl/^ 
JAN  30  1934 


OF 


THE    CHRIST 


DENIS    WORTMAN,   D.D 


*H /3a6i\ei(X  rod  Oeov  evro's  vjugov  16tiv 


NEW   YORK 
E.   P.   DUTTON    &   COMPANY 

31  West  Twenty-third  Street 
1888 


Copyright,  1888,  by 
DENIS    WORTMAN. 


Press  of  J.  J.   Little   &  Co. 
Astor  Place,  New  York. 


TO 

MY     DEAR    WIFE, 

JESSIE    BABCOCK   WORTMAN, 

3n  ^is  Name. 


RELIQUES  OF  THE  CHRIST. 


I. 

I  WONDER  if  in  Nazareth, 

By  heedless  feet  o'errun, 
There  lingers  still  some  dear  relique 

Of  work  by  Joseph's  Son ; 
Some  carved  thought,  some  tool  of  toil, 

Some  house  with  stones  grown  gray, 
A  home  He  built  who  had  not  where 

His  weary  head  to  layc 


REUQUES    OF    THE    CHRIST. 


It  were  a  thing  most  beautiful, 

Of  rare  and  rich  design  ; 
And  something  very  true  and  strong, 

Made  by  a  skill  divine  ; 
The  road-side  stones  at  sight  of  Him 

Could  scarce  their  rapture  hush  ; 
What  felt  his  touch  and  art  must  yet 

With  conscious  beauty  blush. 

I  visit  Nazareth,  ask  each  man, 

Each  mound,  each  stone,  each  wind  ; 
u  I  pray  ye,  help  some  precious  trace 

Of  your  great  Builder  find  ;  M 
Alas  !  ye  listeners  to  my  plaint, 

The  startled  silence  saith  : 
"  What  once  was  false,  is  now  too  true — 

No  Christ  in  Nazareth  !  M 


RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.  7 

But,  O  my  soul,  why  thus  cast  down? 

A  truer  Nazareth  scan; 
What  if  thou  find  no  time-spoiled  work 

Of  Christ,  the  Son  of  Man?— 
Joy  yet  to  thee  ;  lift  up  thy  head, 

Cast  raptured  gaze  abroad, 
See  in  this  vast  Christ-builded  world 

Signs  of  the  Son  of  God. 

So  Nazareth  may  silent  be, 

But  earth  shall  have  her  song  ; 
And  all  things  true  and  beautiful, 

And  all  things  grand  and  strong, 
And  very  humblest,  too,  shall  sing : 

"  Through  Him  have  all  things  been  ; 
And  without  Him  was  nothing  made: 

Praise  ye  the  Lord  !     Amen." 


8  RELIQUES  OF   THE   CHRIST. 

How  sacred  all  things  now  !  behold, 
The  sun  more  brightly  gleams, 

The  night  with  softer  quietude 
And  gentler  radiance  beams  : 

The  wandering  winds  tone   down   their 

Weird  notes  to  soothing  lays,  [wild, 

The  ocean's  waves  tumultuous  leap, 

Lifting  their  voice  in  praise. 

The  skies  wave  lordlier  banner-clouds, 

Fair  fruits  more  savory  seem, 
The  flowers  breathe  daintier  fragrances, 

Wild  wastes  with  verdure  teem  ; 
The  beauty  is  Christ's  handiwork, 

The  light  glows  from  his  face, 
The  perfume  is  his  spirit  ;  all 

Earth's  sweetness  is  his  grace. 


RELIQURS  OF   THE    CHRIST. 

Ah  !  Love  is  wisest  alchemist, 

And  Faith  the  truest  test  ; 
By  it  bright  Love  discovers  oft 

In  very  worst  a  best  ; 
From  bitterness  extracts  a  sweet, 

And,  by  fond  joy  enticed. 
She  cameos  out  from  flinted  griefs 

Choice  keepsakes  of  the  Christ. 

II. 

And  so  I  tell  thee,  O  my  soul, 

I'll  tell  it  to  the  earth: 
If  Christ  have  given  thee  his  grace. 

Thou  hast  right  cause  for  mirth  ; 
Thou  art  thyself  such  rare  relique 

Of  Godlike  wit  and  love, 
As  hideth  not  in  depths  below, 

Or  lighteth  heights  above. 


IO         RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

For  thy  defence  bald  mountains  stand 

And  bare  their  breasts  to  storms, 
The  valleys  are  thy  vassal  slaves ; 

Behold  their  prostrate  forms  ! 
Swift  winds  and  waves  thy  chariots  are, 

Sun,  moon,  and  stars  arise 
To  give  thee  light  ;  to  give  thee  life ; 

Lo  !  the  Incarnate  dies. 

O  soul  of  mine  !  I  tell  thee  true, 

If  Christ  indeed  be  thine, 
Not  more  made  He  himself  thy  kin 

Than   makes  He  thee  divine  ; 
As  through  his  soul  there  frequent  beat 

Our  human  hopes  and  loves, 
So  'midst  thy  varying/  joys  and  fears 

His  spirit  lives  and  moves. 


RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.  II 

An  Olive  in  Gethsemane 

Sometimes  thou  fain  would'st  be, 
Roots  watered,  branches  nourished  by 

That  blood-sweat  shed  for  thee  ; 
Lo,  by  thy  gnarled  roots  He  groans 

Who  feeds  thy  life  with  blood  ; 
And  through  thy  spirit-veins  distils 

The  rich  love-life  of  God. 

Judean  air  thou  fain  would'st  be, 

That  to  Christ's  sacred  kiss 
Thou  too  mightst  quiver,  and  to  men 

Repeat  his  words  of  bliss  ; 
And  all  around  a  ruined  world 

Of  wrath  and  strife  and  woe, 
Thine  echoes  of  its  full  reprieve 

Should  never  cease  their  flow. 


12         RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

Be  thou  such  Christ-breathed  air,  my  soul, 

As  lightsome  and  as  free, 
As  pure,  and  soft,  and  sensitive 

To  all  He  telleth  thee  ; 
With  gentlest  breezes  fan  his  brow, 

Love's  fragrance  to  Him  bear, 
Waft  round  the  earth  his  words  of  grace, 

And  heavenward  lift  his  prayer. 

III. 

What  reverent  soul  loves  not  to  tread 

The  soil  of  Palestine, 
And  breathe  the  air,  and  kiss  the  sod, 

Where  his  worn  feet  have  been  ? 
Kneel  in  the  mountains  where  He  prayed, 

Traverse  the  storm-calm'd  sea, 
Weep  in  the  garden,  bear  some  cross 

To  sacred  Calvary  ? 


RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.  1 3 

But  O  my  soul,  as  I  thy  good 

And  evil  ways  explore, 
I  seem  to  see  the  Christ  in  thee 

His  earthly  life  live  o'er, 
Thou  art  another  Holy  Land, 

(Ah,  holy  mightst  thou  be  !) 
The  olden  joys  and  griefs  of  Christ 

Repeat  themselves  in  thee. 

No  longing  for  his  coming. 

No  greeting  Him  with  scorn, 
No  mountain  for  his  praying, 

No  sea  by  tempest  torn, 
No  cheer  of  friends,  nor  wrath  of  foes, 

From  manger  to  the  tree, 
But  finds  its  faithful  counterpart, 

Mysterious  heart,  in  thee. 


14  RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

Thou  art  that  Manger  where  we  see 

The  infant  Christ  recline  ; 
The  living,  throbbing,  human  breast, 

Nursing  the  Babe  divine  ; 
Thy  low-born  thoughts  the  cattle  are, 

Thy  high,  the  Magi  wise  : 
Lo,  o'er  thee  singing  angels  bend 

And  thrill  with  praise  the  skies. 

Thou  art  that  long-sought  Nazarene  work, 

On  which  with  love-taught  skill 
The  Carpenter  who  is  about 

His  Father's  business  still, 
Doth  toil  through  sunshine  and  through 

And  far  into  the  night,  [storm, 

Building  a  house  most  beautiful 

To  crown  some  holy  height. 


RELIQUES   OF    THE   CHRIST.  1 5 

Thou  art  that  Temple  where  the  Lord 

Out-teacheth  scribes  of  law, 
Whence  afterward  with  cords  He  makes 

Coarse  mammon-priests  withdraw  ; 
Thine  inmost  court,  a  holy  place, 

The  Lord's  own  glory-home, 
Thine  outer  sentencing  Him  oft 

To  shame  and  martyrdom. 

Thou  art  most  fair,  Gennessaret 

With  holy  depths  of  calm, 
Thy  smile  is  heaven's  portraiture, 

Thy  breath  a  tender  psalm : 
Oh  !  who  could  guess  such  rageful  storms 

Might  spoil  thy  bright  expanse  ? 
Who  think  o'er  such  sweet  lyre*  of  God 

Might  thrum  such  dissonance  ? 

*  Gennessaret — a  lyre. 


1 6         RELIQUES  OF    THE    CHRIST. 

But  wot  thou  well,  my  soul,  of  One 

Who  can  thy  rage  control  ; 
Of  One  who  sails  serene  the  sea 

When  waves  of  vlldness  roll ; 
The  Master  speaks — the  maniac  winds 

Pause,  listening  to  his  will  ; 
Then  all  thy  depths  of  calm  return — 

As  He  saith  :  "  Peace,  be  still." 

Thou  art  that  upper  chamber  where 

The  Saviour  is  the  guest  ; 
Where  Judas  a  vile  treason  hides, 

But  John  leans  on  his  breast  ; 
Here  breaketh  he  the  mystic  bread, 

Here  poureth  mystic  wine, 
And  in  a  human  breast  pours  forth 

A  prayer,  a  love,  divine. 


RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.  1 7 

Thou  art  the  Garden,  where  the  Christ 

Perchance  hath  oft  essayed 
Sweet  hours  of  rest  in  solitude 

Beneath  thine  olive  shade  ; 
Yet,  oh,  that  blood-sweat,  oh,  that  deep, 

That  bitter  agony 
Of  our  dear  Lord  !  my  soul,  thou  art 

His  dark  Gethsemane  ! 

"  Father,  if  it  be  possible, 

Let  this  cup  pass  from  me  !  " 
My  soul,  that  pleading  prayer  to  God 

Was  made  in  truth  to  thee ; 
Thou  would'st  not  make  it  possible  ; 

"  Not  my  will,  then,  but  thine  !  " 
Thou  hast  thy  way  ;  but,  cruel  soul, 

What  sin  hast  thou  made  mine  ! 


1 8         RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

What,  wilful  soul,  was  Calvary's  Cross 

But  thine  uplifted  pride; 
What  saw  thine  angered  sin  so  pierced 

His  hands,  his  feet,  his  side  ? 
Ay,  what  his  thirst  but  for  thy  love  ? 

And  had  the  Saviour's  heart 
So  missed  the  Father  hadst  thou  but 

Fulfilled  the  brother's  part  ? 

Lord,  pardon  me  !  love  cannot  be 

By  Thee  misunderstood  ; 
These  nails  and  spear  are  tokens  dear 

They  tell  me  of  thy  blood  ; 
E'en  from  my  sins  my  spirit  wins 

This  tender,  reverent  thought  ; 
Through  sins  of  mine,  by  sufferings  thine 

Was  my  redemption  wrought. 


RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.  1 9 

But,  O  my  soul,  I  charge  thee  well, 

Reliques  more  noble  gain 
Than  those  which  jeopardize  thy  life, 

And  give  the  Lord  such  pain  ; 
Where  be  thy  tears  of  penitence, 

Thine  inward  groans  and  sighs, 
Thy  restful  trust,  thy  weeping  love, 

Thy  quick  self-sacrifice  ? 

Dear  Lord,  the  crucifier  would 

Be  crucified  by  Thee  ; 
Turn  Thou  thy  love  to  instruments 

Of  torture  sweet  to  me  ! 
Thrice  welcome,  cross  and  nail  and  spear ! 

Oh,  joy  of  agony ! 
I  pardon  Him  that  slayeth  me, 

Pierced  by  his  love,  I  die  ! 


20         RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

More  precious  now  than  wooden  cross 

The  crosses  daily  borne  ; 
Than  thorns  of  old,  the  griefs  by  which 

The  heart's  self-love  is  torn  ; 
Sacred  as  Calvary's  mournful  road. 

The  rough  paths  daily  trod  ; 
But  best  of  all,  or  cross,  or  crown, 

As  pleaseth  Thee,  my  God  ! 

So  this  I  say,  my  soul,  as  I 

Thy  devious  ways  explore  ; 
I  seem  to  see  the  Christ  in  thee 

His  earthly  life  live  o'er  ; 
Thou  art  another  Holy  Land — 

(Ah,  holy  mightst  thou  be  !) 
The  olden  joys  and  griefs  of  Christ 

Repeat  themselves  in  thee. 


RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.  21 

No  longing  for  his  coming, 

No  greeting  him  with  scorn, 
No  mountain  for  his  praying, 

No  sea  by  tempest  torn  ; 
No  cheer  of  friend,  no  wrath  of  foe, 

From  manger  to  the  tree, 
But  finds  its  faithful  counterpart, 

Mysterious  heart,  in  thee  ! 

IV. 

I  wonder  hath  the  World  a  heart 

Her  Master's  pangs  to  know  ; 
I  wonder  hath  she  yet  forgot 

That  sweet  and  tender  woe  ; 
I  wonder  if  her  soul  doth  not 

Yet  quiver  with  the  pain 
That  throbbed  with  earthquake  violence 

When  gentle  Christ  was  slain ! 


22         RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

Oh,  it  is  beautiful  to  think, 

That  God  hath  well  decreed 
A  certain  great  undyingness 

To  live  in  every  deed  ; 
A  world's  unrest,  an  insect's  flight 

Is  felt  by  furthest  star; 
And    all     our    works     and     words    and 

Like  us,  immortal  are.  [thoughts, 

And  sure,  if  the  great  World-Heart  notes 

The  evening  insect-hum, 
Of  Calvary's  plaintive  psalm  it  ne'er 

Forgetful  shall  become; 
If  Nature  minds  the  pressure  slight 

Of  erring  human  feet, 
What  thrill  when  Jesus  trod  her  plains  ! 

The  memory,  how  sweet  ! 


RELIQUES  OF    THE    CHRIST.         23 

No  need  we  fondly  traverse  back 

The  ancient  centuries  through, 
That  with  Jerusalem's  wondering  throng 

We  may  see  Jesus  too  ; 
0  eyes  so  blind  !  O  ears  so  deaf 

To  this  great  teaching  list  ! 
The  wide  world  echoes  endlessly 

With  that  strange  life  of  Christ. 

Lo,  all  the  air  is  tremulous 

With  his  sweet  words  of  grace, 
The  rhythmic  hints  of  God-like  speech 

In  these  wild  winds  we  trace  ; 
Still  in  her  rocky  heart  Earth  hears 

The  echo  of  his  tread, 
And  listens  with  a  mute  delight 

To  all  the  Master  said. 


24         RELIQUES  OF    THE    CHRIST. 

Lo,  all  the  air,  so  tremulous 

With  his  sweet  words  of  grace, 
Still  pulsates  with  the  radiance 

Of  his  love-lucent  face  ; 
And  the  vast  ether-world,  that  bears 

The  news  from  sun  to  sun, 
Bids  all  its  myriad  winged  steeds 

On  this  new  errand  run. 

Lo  !  all  the  ether-firmament 
"  Yet  quivers  in  amaze, 
And  will  not  from  the  Christ-life  draw 

Its  reverential  gaze  ; 
Now  worlds  afar  that  life  behold, 

Yes — they  the  Christ  may  see, 
And  gaze  in  sweet,  sad  wonderment 

On  sad,  sweet  Calvary  ! 


RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.  2$ 

No  wonder,  with  such  news  to  bear, 

So  swift  thou  art,  O  Light  ! 
No  wonder,  Earth,  thy  daily  turn 

To  show  all  worlds  the  sight ; 
No  wonder,  now,  while  we  below 

Are  shrouded  in  our  night, 
That  ye,  O  vision-favored  Spheres, 

Shine  forth  so  glad,  so  bright ! 

Ah,  Worlds,  ye  cannot  shine  too  bright, 

Nor  sing  too  joyously, 
Nor  up  your  infinite  highways 

March  too  triumphantly  ; 
And  some  day  God  may  give  me  leave 

To  go  where  the  visions  shine, 
And  the  sight  of  the  Lord  and  all  He  did 

Shall  then,  my  soul,  be  thine  ! 


26         RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 


And  gay  and  quick  as  humming-birds 

Dart  'mong  the  flowerets  fair, 
Shall  be  thy  rapturous,  flashing  flight 

From  radiant  star  to  star  ; 
Nor  such  a  feast  to  humming-bird 

May  daintiest  honey  be, 
As  each  fresh  view  of  Jesus*  life 

Shall  be,  my  soul,  to  thee. 

O  Bethlehem  !  O  Bethlehem  ! 

We'll  hear  thy  choirs  again, 
"  Glory  to  God  on  high  !  on  earth 

Peace,  and  good  will  to  men  ! " 
The  countless  peoples  of  the  skies 

Shall  seize  the  uplifted  song, 
And  ages  over  ages  pour 

The  tidal  psalm  along. 


RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.  2j 

Glad  City  of  the  angel-song, 

Not  one  star  then  shall  come 
To  bow  in  solitary  pause 

O'er  thy  blest  manger-home  ; 
Lo,  then  fulfilled  the  Patriarch's  dream, 

And  none  shall  envious  be, 
As  sun  and  moon  and  all  the  stars 

Obeisance  make  to  thee ! 

Then,  Worlds,  ye  cannot  shine  too  bright, 

Nor  sing  too  joyously, 
Nor  up  your  infinite  highways 

March  too  triumphantly  ; 
And  some  day  God  shall  give  me  leave 

To  go  where  the  visions  shine ; 
The  sight  of  the  Lord  and  all  He  did 

Shall,  raptured  soul,  be  thine! 


28         RELIQUES  OF    THE    CHRIST. 

But  O,  ye  far-off  Times,  is  all 

Your  mighty  wondrousness 
But  echo  and  sad  spectacle 

Of  earth's  strange  wantonness, 
That  slew  great  Christ  and  buried  him 

Out  of  its  sight  and  love? 
Oh,  hath  Christ  died  so  utterly 

Nor  lives  somewhere  above ; 

Somewhere  above  the  lowlands  damp 

Of  mournful,  shaded  earth; 
Somewhere  above  these  poor  misthoughts 

Of  human  hearted  birth  ; 
Somewhere  above  the  solemn  heights 

Of  utmost  sentinel  star; 
The  living,  loving,  crowned  Christ, 

In  his  august  Somewhere  ? 


RELIQUES  OF   THE    CHRIST.         2g 

V. 
There  is  a  City  great  and  strong, 

Twelve  gates  of  precious  stones, 
With  turrets  and  high  battlements, 

Not  needing  light  of  suns  ; 
The  streets  aglow  with  fire  of  gold, 

It  hath  no  sound  of  strife  ; 
In  glory  all  its  own  it  stands 

Beside  the  stream  of  Life. 

A  joy  is  there  that  knows  no  cloy, 

A  light  that  ne'er  grows  dim, 
A  multitude  that  never  cease 

From  grateful  praise  and  hymn  ; 
Lo,  all  the  sainted  sons  of  earth, 

And  angels  there  I  view  ; 
And  there,  O  vision  glorious, 

There  standeth  Jesus  too  ! 


30         REL1QUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

Jesus,  I  know  'tis  He  ;   I  see 

The  mark  of  nail  and  spear  ; 
And  on  his  face  I  catch  the  trace 

Of  earth-time  smile  and  tear  ; 
But  on  his  brow  a  crown  shines  now, 

And  bending  hosts  adore  ! 
'Tis  He,  'tis  He  who  on  the  tree 

The  thorn-crown  meekly  wore  ! 

O  wondrous-fair  Jerusalem, 

Shall  I  thy  gates  pass  through  ? 
Thy  jubilations  surely  join, 

Thy  lordly  splendors  view  ? 
O  Crucified,  O  Glorified, 

Shall  I  thy  face  behold, 
And  join  the  ransomed  as  they  sing 

Along  the  streets  of  gold  ? 


RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.  3 1 

Ah,  Time,  forgotten  now  thy  toils, 

Thy  cares  and  sins  and  tears  ; 
To  my  enraptured  vision,  lo  ! 

The  eternal  home  appears ; 
And  through  the  Father's  palaces 

I  shall  ecstatic  rove. 
Nor  weary  ever  as  I  sing 

Emmanuel's  grace  and  love. 

O  Crowns  and  Thrones  and  Sapphires, 

Ye  glisten  in  the  light  !  [how 

Ye  cannot  flash  too  far  your  joy, 

Ye  cannot  blaze  too  bright  ; 
And  some  day  God  shall  bid  me  dwell 

Where  the  great  visions  shine, 
The  sight  of  the  Lord  and  all  he  is 

Shall  be  the  world's  and  mine. 


12         RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

Thou  wondrously  fair  City,  what 

Can  mean  thy  dazzling  light  ? 
And  what  thy  golden  pavements  broad  ? 

Thy  singers  robed  in  white  ? 
What  mean  thy  walls  bejewelled,  what 

Thy  gates  of  pearl  so  strong  ; 
Now  thine  impressive  silences, 

Now  thy  far-sounding  song  ? 

VI. 
A  dream  !  The  City  of  the  Christ 

And  that  of  Love  are  one  ; 
For  each  the  fairest  is,  and  best 

The  sons  of  God  have  known  ; 
They  are  the  one  broad  sovereignty, 

They  have  the  one  high  throne, 
And  Christ  ne'er  is  where  Love  rules  not, 

From  furthest  zone  to  zone. 


RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.  33 

Love  is  a  city,  wall'd  and  tower'd, 

With  bulwarks  builded  high, 
On  every  foe  they  rise  to  frown, 

And  foolish  passer-by  ; 
Full  pearly-gated,  too,  is  she, 

Three  gates  on  every  side, 
Which  for  the  worn  and  weary  hearts 

Stand  alway  open  wide. 

Her  streets  are  of  pure  gold,  as  though 

Transparent  glass  one  sees, 
Her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness 

And  all  her  paths  are  peace  ; 
And  in  Love's  city  is  no  curse, 

No  shadows  darken  there, 
The  Lamb,  the  light  thereof,  doth  make 

All  lustrous  everywhere. 

3 


34         REL1QUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

The  clear  Life-River  through  her  rnidst 

In  grateful  fulness  flows, 
Upon  whose  banks  the  Tree  of  Life 

With  healing  leafage  grows  ; 
Nor  hunger  there,  nor  pain  of  thirst, 

Love  casteth  out  all  fears, 
And  God  most  gently  wipes  away 

The  traces  of  our  tears. 

O  wondrous  New  Jerusalem, 

From  Heaven  thou  art  come  down  ! 
On  earth  thy  firm  foundations  are, 

Here  weareth  Christ  his  crown  ; 
Here  for  the  symbols  of  his  reign 

We  rightful  search  begin  ; 
O  loveliest  Christ,  O  Christliest  Love, 

Thy  kingdom  is  within  ! 


RELIQUES  OF    THE    CHRIST.  35 

Here  is  the  radiant  glory, 

And  here  the  rapture  song, 
The  multitudinous  angels, 

The  vast  redeemed  throng  ; 
The  pavement  fair  and  golden, 

Life's  River  broad  and  pure, 
Christ's  true  Jerusalem  sounding 

Redemption's  overture  ! 

The  Resurrection  trumpet !     It 

Hath  sounded  o'er  my  soul, 
Its  loud  reverberations 

Roll  forth  from  pole  to  pole  ; 
The  mountains  rise  in  terror, 

The  valleys  bend  in  prayer  ; 
The  sea  grows  hoarse  with  moaning, 

The  skies  with  anger  glare. 


36         RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

The  Resurrection  trumpet !     It 

Hath  sounded  o'er  the  soul ; 
Through  all  her  mystic  vastnesses 

The  solemn  thunders  roll  ; 
From  out  their  long  imprisonment 

The  waiting  dead  arise, 
To  hail  the  Master,  marshalling 

His  armies  in  the  skies  ! 

Ah  !  not  with  dread  appear  the  dead 

Before  the  Master  now  ; 
Beneath  his  crown  no  darkling  frown  ; 

Sweet  mercy  lights  his  brow  ; 
For  this  fair  day  have  waited  they 

In  dark  confinement  long: 
Now  burst  they  forth  from  tombs  of  earth  ; 

Now  bursteth  forth  their  song. 


RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.  37 

O  throbbing  Hopes  of  years  gone  by, 

Ye  weak  yet  holy  Cares, 
0  blushing,  panting,  fainting  Loves, 

Ye  sad  yet  sweet  Despairs, 
True  Souls  within  my  soul  ye  be, 

Nor  need,  nor  shall  ye  die  ; 
Long-buried  saints  of  God,  arise, 

Redemption  draweth  nigh  ! 

And  now  they  rise,  long-buried  rise 

From  out  the  tainted  tomb  ; 
From  deathful  sin's  enthralment  spring 

To  Paradise's  bloom  ; 
Sown  in  corruption  basest,  rise 

In  whiteness  as  the  light ; 
Dishonored,  rise  illustrious, 

From  weakness  rise  to  might ! 


38         RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

Oh,  ravishment  unspeakable 

With  which  their  Lord  they  greet  ; 
With  Love's  surprised  bewilderment 

They  cast  them  at  his  feet  ; 
No  Day  of  Judgment  grand  and  dread, 

No  dies  irce  this, 
But  grand,  imposing  vestibule 

To  their  immortal  bliss. 

The  bliss  of  quick  obedience 

To  his  low-whispered  will, 
The  bliss  of  holy  idleness 

When  He  shall  bid,  stand  still  ; 
The  rapture  of  a  chieftain's  soul 

When  He  to  arms  shall  call, 
Hope's  jubilant  expectancy 

Of  triumph  over  all. 


RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.  39 

O  Resurrection  morning, 

Entrancing  tearless  eyes  ! 
O  chants  of  fairest  angels, 

Thrilling  these  mystic  skies  ! 
Thou  strange,  unworldly  world  within 

That  Jesus  died  to  save, 
In  thee  no  sigh  nor  moaning  now, 

No  melancholy  grave  ! 

Thou  fair  Jerusalem  of  God, 

Supernally  away 
Above  our  most  adventurous  thoughts ; 

Thou  art  with  us  to  day  ; 
In  human  hearts  hast  thou  thy  throne, 

Here,  Lord,  thy  servants  be, 
To  stand  before  thy  face,  and  do 

Thy  will  right  loyally. 


40         KELIQUES  OF    THE    CHRIST. 

Here  is  the  radiant  glory, 

And  here  the  rapture-song  ; 
Here  multitudinous  angels, 

And  the  redeemed  throng  ; 
The  pavement  fair  and  golden, 

The  river  broad  and  pure  ; 
The  true  Jerusalem  swelling 

Redemption's  overture  ! 

VII. 
Ay,  now,  thou  dear  Jerusalem, 

God  bless  and  bless  thee  ever, 
With  crystal  fulness  flow  thy  peace 

As  flows  thy  gentle  river ; 
Thy  streets  and  temples  hallowed  be 

With  joy  and  song  unending  ; 
Thy  sainted  fears  and  prayers  and  hopes 

Before  God's  throne  low  bending. 


RELIQUES  OF   THE    CHRIST.         4 1 

But  fear  and  pain  steal  o'er  my  soul, 

My  joy  to  grief  gives  birth  ; 
The  clouds  that  glorify  the  sky 

Cast  shadows  on  the  earth  ; 
Songs  the  Immortals  sing,  if  touched 

By  mortal  discord,  jar, 
And  earthly  incompletenesses 

A  heavenly  vision  mar ! 

O  City,  temple,  song  of  God, 

From  Heaven  thou  art  come  down, 
With  all  thy  rich  magnificence 

And  all  thy  just  renown  ; 
There  stood  thy  walls  well  builded,  all 

Immaculate  thy  white, 
Thy  hymns  ne'er  ununisonant, 

Unmarred  thy  delight. 


42         RELIQUES  OF   THE    CHRIST. 

Lo  !  on  the  cragged  mountain  heights, 

And  on  the  marshy  plain, 
Can  Heaven's  castellated  walls 

A  safe  foundation  gain  ? 
Can  our  earth-air  so  lowering, 

So  light  a  song  maintain  ? 
Shall  not  its  clearest  crystalness 

The  heavenly  lustre  stain  ? 

Ah,  well!  there  be  wild  storms  that  give 

A  nobler  close  to-day, 
Indignant  lightnings  thresh  the  skies 

To  fright  the  plague  away, 
Mayhap  some  waters  sweeter  prove 

For  trailing  through  the  meadows, 
God's  light  may  all  the  choicer  be 

For  sifting  through  the  shadows  ! 


RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.         43 

Songs  of  my  soul  !  discordant 

Their  notes  may  sometimes  be  ; 
Unversed  the  minstrel,  broken 

The  puzzled  melody  ; 
Untuned  the  harp  and  viol ; 

But  (fond  conceit  to  me,) 
If  pleasing  be  this  tuning, 

What  shall  the  music  be? 

O  Master-Builder,  quarry  from 

My  heart  the  rock-hard  part  ; 
Nor  mind  the  pain  if  Thou  but  gain 

Chance  for  thy  perfect  art  ; 
The  valleys  fill,  mountain  and  hill 

Smoothe  down,  and  safe  on  them 
Rear  loftier  walls  and  palaces 

Of  the  New  Jerusalem. 


44         RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

O  Master-Artist,  these  wild  peaks  . 

Convert  to  temple  spires, 
On  all  these  swelling  hills  of  pride 

Kindle  thine  altar  fires  ; 
These  pestilential  fogs  uplift 

Pure  incense-clouds  on  high  ; 
And  with  what  damps  and  darkens  earth 

Incarnadine  the  sky. 

O  Master-Singer,  frozen  song 

This  heart-world  sure  must  be  ; 
Breathe  Thou  upon  it,  it  shall  melt 

To  one  soft  symphony  ; 
The  strange  spell  that  enthralls  it  now 

Thou  sure  canst  disenchant, 
And  blend  into  rich  song  the  strains 

So  sad,  so  dissonant. 


RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.  45 

Lord  God,  mountains  and  clouds  and  seas 

To  thy  grand  choir  belong, 
Thy  lightning  like  a  gemmed  baton 

Beats  time  for  the  thunder-song  ; 
Rule  Thou  in  this  wild  nature,  Lord, 

These  passion-tempests  calm, 
And  from  the  myriad  clang  and  jar 

Evoke  the  noble  psalm. 

Ay,  as  the  night's  deep  darkness  makes 

More  radiant  the  dawn; 
As  life's  most  hallowed,  hallowing  joys 

Are  oft  from  sorrows  drawn ; 
As  minor  strains  the  noblest  song's 

Rich  pathos  may  improve  : 
Our  shadowing  sins  may  make  the  more 

Illustrious  thy  love. 


46         RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

The  fractured  glass  shall  daintily 

Caress  the  sunbeam  white, 
Teasing  into  a  rainbow  smile 

The  frightened,  trembling  light ; 
Lord,  Thou  canst  use  our  brokenness 

To  gem  the  heavenly  wall, 
And  through  our  faults  and  frailties  screen 

Transplendent  grace  o'er  all. 

Not  less  is  thy  true  kingdom  here 

Because  of  human  weakness  ; 
Not  less  thy  joy  in  us  because 

Our  fall  hath  led  to  meekness  ; 
Our  praise  is  not  less  grateful,  Lord, 

Because  well  mixed  with  praying ; 
Nor  find  we  Welcome-Home  less  warm 

Because  returned  from  straying! 


REUQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.  47 

Dear  Christ,  not  in  poor  Palestine 

Poor  signs  of  Thee  we  trace  ; 
Not    through   the    boundless     star-shine 

For  semblance  of  thy  face  ;        [search 
Not  for  a  far-off  earth-time  wait 

Our  Saviour  to  behold, 
Nor  gaze  beyond  the  stream  of  death 

Through  yonder  gates  of  gold. 

The  stars  be  near,  the  times  be  here  ; 

And  walls  all  diamond-strewn  ; 
The  myriad  throng,  the  golden  song, 

And  the  eternal  throne  ; 
Here  seraphim  and  cherubim 

Before  Thee  reverent  bow  ; 
Lord  Jesus,  we  too  worship  Thee, 

We  see  Thee  here  and  now  ! 


48         RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

To  our  long  yearning,  waiting  hearts 

Thou  hast  this  word  to  say  : 
"  He  sees  the  Master's  face  who  loves 

The  Master  to  obey  ; 
My  father  and  my  mother  they 

Who  gladly  do  my  will ; 
They  serve  Me  well  who  for  my  poor 

The  cup  of  blessing  fill !  " 

Oh,  sacred  joy  to  us  who  long 

His  absence  have  deplored, 
To  see  in  living  human  forms 

The  kindred  of  our  Lord  ! 
O  Servant-Master,  make  us  such 

True  servants  to  mankind, 
That  they  grateful  memorial 

Of  Thee  in  us  may  find. 


RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.  49 

So  search  we,  Lord,  not  for  some  rare 

Far  visions  of  thy  face  ; 
In  present  loves  and  joys  and  toils 

Let  us  thy  spirit  trace  ; 
In  brave  contentions  for  the  right. 

Forgivenesses  of  wrong, 
The  fears  that  hope,  the  tears  that  smile, 

Weak  lives  by  faith  made  strong. 

How  dreadful  every  place  with  God, 

Solemn  each  soul  with  Him 
Before  whom  on  exalted  throne 

Bow  winged  cherubim! 
Oh  !  ours  with  reverence  to  treat 

The  heart  where  He  abides, 

And  bless  the  world  o'er  which  the  Lord 

With  august  grace  presides ! 
4 


50         RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

Yes,  Saviour  dear,  Thou  art  most  near, 

When  most  afar  we  deem, 
And  all  is  right  and  full  of  light 

That  dark  and  wrong  doth  seem. 
Thou  hast  thy  will  when  frowning  ill 

Our  doubting  hearts  affrights; 
Ah,  had  we  only  better  known 

Thy  love's  great  depths  and  heights  ! 

Jesus,  the  world,  so  wordly,  is 

Yet  very  full  of  Thee  ; 
Restless  with  the  imprisoned  God 

The  tempest  and  the  sea  : 
In  dark  and  tortuous  veins  are  hid 

Mountains  of  ancient  light, 
In  human  weakness  part  of  God's 

Yet  undeveloped  right. 


RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST.  5  I 

To  them  that  love  thy  will,  O  Christ, 

There  is  no  lack  of  Thee  ; 
Only  our  deafness  will  not  hear, 

Our  blindness  will  not  see  ; 
Earth's  discords  are  the  surplus  strains 

That  beat  in  wildness  round  ; 
Her  darkness,  surplus  light  with  which 

Unseen  stars  strew  the  ground  ! 

VIII. 

I  think  of  that  brave  instrument,* 

Most  wonderful,  whereby 
From  all  the  harsh  and  Babel  cries 

That  our  sore  senses  try, 
The  listening  ear  may  sort  the  strains 

That  best  her  fancy  please, 
Singling  from  sounds  most  clangorous 

Harmonious  symphonies. 

*  The  Silent  Melodeon. — See  Appendix. 


52  RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

Amidst  the  city's  din  are  heard 

The  bells  of  Sabbath  ringing, 
And  through  the  factory's  buzz  and  hum 

The  songs  of  children  singing  : 
Through  the  deep  solemn  chimes  of  war 

The  hymns  of  home  are  gliding ; 
Behind  resounding  thunder-blasts 

The  timid  choirs  are  hiding. 

Faith  is  that  wondrous  instrument 

Whereby  the  soul  may  hear 
Amid  the  woes  and  wails  of  life 

The  songs  of  hope  and  cheer  ; 
We  stand  among  the  myriad  sounds 

That  fill  the  troubled  earth, 
And  ever  choose  the  strains  we  will 

Of  sadness  or  of  mirth. 


R  ELI  QUE  S   OF    THE   CHRIST.  53 

We  sit  beside  the  groaning  sea 

Of  human  fear  and  sorrow, 
And  catch  immortal  symphonies 

From  God's  eternal  Morrow  ; 
Within  us  fares  the  fearful  fray 

Of  many  hosts  contending, 
Yet  well  we  hear  the  victor-cries 

O'er  contests  grandly  ending. 

Oh  !  hoarse  the  shouts  and  wild  the  fray 

Where  fight  the  good  and  ill, 
And  how  shall  we  keep  courage  up 

With  God  so  far,  so  still  ? 
And  human  breasts  are  filled  with  dread, 

As,  mingling  in  the  din, 
They  wonder  when  the  Lord  shall  bid 

Grace  to  o'ermaster  sin. 


54  REUQUES   OE    THE    CHRIST. 

God  !    hear  what    dreadful    wraths    and 

Threaten  thy  noblest  plan  ;  [cries 

What  wicked  powers  and  plots  of  hell ! 

What  fateful  schemes  of  man  ! 
Huge  Wrong  stands  ofttimes  uppermost, 

And  Right  lies  humbled  low  ; 
And  to  discouraged  ones  it  seems 

That  Thou  wilt  have  it  so  ! 

Great  songs  of  God  are  fast  inclosed 

In  the  world-organ  vast, 
The  winds  sweep  up  the  quivering  pipes 

In  stormy,  angry  blast ; 
But  Faith  sits  at  the  organ-board, 

And  deftly  strikes  the  keys, 
Tis  weird,  'tis  grand,  how  earthly  reeds 

Breathe  heavenly  melodies  ! 


REL1QUES  OF   THE   CHRIST.  55 

Blow    slow,   blow   fast,  thou    maddened 
blast, 

Thou  shalt  but  Christ-songs  bring 
To  trusting  minds  !    Blow,  Winter  winds, 

Blow  hard — ye  speed  the  Spring, 
Wild  hurricanes,  the  tender  strains 

Of  love  Faith  makes  ye  blow  ; 
As  though  the  angels,  strong  and  strange, 

Hosannas  flung  below. 

Give  me  the  ear,  my  God,  to  hear 

The  songs  the  angels  sing  me, 
Give  me  the  eye  that  shall  descry 

With  joy  the  joys  they  bring  me  ! 
To  my  poor  heart  the  power  impart 

To  know  that  Thou  art  near  me  ; 
And  let  Love  listen  to  the  Christ 

Who  longs  with  love  to  cheer  me. 


56         RELIQUES  OF    THE    CHRIST. 


Oh,  for  the  ear  that  hearkening 

In  stillness  rapt  and  holy, 
Misses  no  undertone  of  song 

Howe'er  so  soft  and  lowly  ; 
The  ear  that  notes  the  mystic  psalms 

The  mystic  choirs  are  singing  ; 
God  louder  in  his  silences 

Than  clouds  when  thunders  flinging! 

Oh,  for  the  eye  that  out  beyond 

The  stars  spies  others  gleaming, 
That  scans  the  Unbeheld  as  real, 

The  Seen  as  only  seeming  ; 
The  eye  that  earthly  blindness  helps 

To  spiritual  seeing, 
And  deep  within  the  inmost  finds 

The  richer,  fuller  being  ! 


RELIQUES  OF   THE    CHRIST,  57 

Through  all  thy  myriad  crowding  worlds, 

In  vain  I  search  for  Thee, 
Till  by  thy  clearer  vision  Thou 

Searchest  and  savest  me  ; 
Then,  Master,  I  essay  no  more 

To  find  the  holy  spot 
Where  dwellest  Thou  ;  I  wondering  ask, 

Where  shall  I  find  Thee  not  ? 

Dear  Christ,  in  this  unworthy  heart 

Dwell  with  celestial  grace, 
Let  the  whole  world  be  splendent  with 

The  glory  of  thy  face  ; 
While  we  below  far  upward  press 

Our  arduous,  ardent  way,  [down, 

Thy   heavens,    O  Lord  of    Hosts,  bring 

And  here  thy  power  display  ! 


58         RELIQUES   OF    THE    CHRIST. 

Here  be  the  radiant  glory, 

And  here  the  rapture-song, 
Here  multitudinous  angels, 

And  the  full-ransomed  throng  ; 
The  City  fair  and  golden, 

Life's  River,  broad  and  pure  ; 
Thy  New  Jerusalem,  sounding 

Redemption's  Overture  ! 


APPENDIX 


Page  51. — "I    THINK    OF    THAT    BRAVE    INSTRU- 
MENT." 

Ever  since  I  read  of  The  Silent  Melodeon  I 
have  loved  to  think  of  it  as  a  striking  illustration 
of  the  manner  in  which  the  trusting,  loving  spirit 
will  hear  songs  of  Christ  in  all  possible  discords 
and  tumults  of  the  world  ;  and  have  ventured  so 
to  employ  it  here.  For  a  full  account  of  this 
peculiar  instrument,  see  Appleto?is  Annual 
Cyclopcedia  for  1868,  p.  463,  from  which  I  ab- 
stract and  condense  the  following  : 

"  The  Silent  Melodeon. — In  1868,  M.  Daguin, 
a  French  physician,  invented  the  analyzing  cor- 
net by  which,  out  of  a  confused  body  of  sound, 
of  many  different  notes,  he  could  separate  and 
make  audible  by  itself  alone  any  particular  note 
at  pleasure.  This  instrument  consists  of  several 
tubes,  opening  and  shutting  together,  like  those 
of  a  telescope.  By  varying  the  length  of  the 
instrument,  the  length  and  volume  of  the  column 
ol  inclosed  air  will  also  be  changed  to  an  equal 
extent.  In  this  way,  by  lengthening  and  shorten- 
ing the  cornet,  certain  notes  are  emphasized,  and 
heard  separately  from  the  others. 


6o  APPENDIX. 


"  In  The  Silent  Melodeon  the  volume  of  the 
column  of  air  is  not  changed  as  in  the  cornet, 
but  remains  constantly  the  same ;  and  the  sound 
is  modulated  through  holes  in  the  tube,  which 
are  opened  and  shut  by  the  fingers,  like  a  flute. 
The  tube  is  bell-mouthed  at  one  end,  and  closed 
at  the  other  with  a  perforated  button  which  in 
use  is  pressed  against  the  ear.  By  varying  the 
order  of  opening  the  holes,  the  desired  note  is 
separated  from  the  other  mingling  sounds,  and  is 
distinctly  and  separately  heard. 

"With  this  instrument  all  the  notes  of  the 
gamut  can  be  made  audible,  with  no  other  base 
than  the  confused  body  of  mingling  sounds.  A 
tune  can  be  played,  heard  by  no  one  but  the  per- 
son using  the  instrument.  He  will  hear  a  melody, 
audible  only  to  himself,  through  an  instrument 
which  makes  no  sound.  He  selects  the  notes  he 
chooses.  M.  Daguin  has  named  this  instrument 
The  Silent  Melodeon,  because  it  plays  a  tune  with- 
out creating  a  sound. 

11  One  of  these,  a  three-holed  instrument  on 
which  a  perfect  major  chord  cnn  be  sounded,  has 
been  presented  by  M.  Daguin  to  the  Academy. 
For  the  purpose  of  producing  what  corresponds 
to  double-vision,  he  has  made  use  of  two  instru- 
ments, one  at  each  ear.  The  separate  notes, 
diverse  in  sound,  but  equal  in  vibration,  seem 
one." 


